1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to methods, apparatuses, and articles of manufacture which may be used in association with providing acquisition assistance to a mobile electronic device.
2. Information
Many mobile electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, portable satellite navigation devices, mobile computers, and the like, may include an ability to estimate location and/or position of the mobile device with a high degree of accuracy. An ability to estimate a mobile device's location may be made possible by any one of several signals-based position estimation technologies such as, for example, satellite positioning systems (e.g., the Global Positioning System [GPS] and the like), advanced forward-link trilateration (AFLT), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), enhanced cellular identification (ECID), just to name a few examples. As a result, mobile device users may be provided with many different services such as, for example, emergency location services, vehicle or pedestrian navigation, location-based searching, and so forth.
In many instances, a mobile device that estimates a position as a result of receiving signals from space vehicles of a satellite positioning system (SPS), for example, may be assisted by signals carrying information from a terrestrial wireless or wireline voice or data communications system. Such assistance data signals may reduce a time required by the mobile device to acquire signals from a SPS, for example, and to determine location measurements, such as pseudoranges, for example, or to estimate location of the mobile device based, at least in part, on measured and/or decoded characteristics of acquired signals. Under some circumstances, assistance may reduce the time spent by a mobile device in performing location measurements, and/or computing an estimate of its location, from several minutes to several seconds. Such assistance may also enable weaker (e.g. signals attenuated or reflected by surrounding buildings and walls in an urban or indoor environment), SPS signals to be acquired and measured, thereby enabling location of a mobile device in a greater number of environments.